Differential equations/Ordinary Differential Equations
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- See also Ordinary Differential Equations
Work in progress
For engineers and scientists, your introduction to a differential equation probably occurred in your Calculus I class, where you were introduced to the derivative of a function (i.e. . At the same time you were taking introductory physics where concepts such as Newton's second law of motion (for linear motion) was presented as , and when combined with led to the differential equation , .
Similarly many fundamental laws of science are expressed as differential equations:
- Law of Conservation of Mass: Rate of Mass In - Rate of Mass Out = Rate of Change of Mass content
- Law of Conservation of Energy: Rate of Energy In - Rate of Energy Out = Rate of Change of Energy content
Each of these represents the change in a quantity (dependent variable) with respect to an independent variable (such as time).
- Law of Conservation of Mass: Rate of Mass In - Rate of Mass Out = Rate of Change of Mass content,
An nth order differential equation is of the form ). For example, when Newton's second law of motion, , is applied to a moving object the resulting differential equation is
